Jonathan Gonzalez and Ariane Ochoa have won the inaugural QS1,000 Pro A Coruña in shifting three-to-five foot surf at the secondary venue of play de Caion.
The women’s final was first to hit the water, with all surfers opting to sit out the back on the low tide bank instead of in the shore break like the previous heats had seen. The slow matchup witnessed Ariane Ochoa (EUK), 18, capitalize early with a two-turn combo on an outside set to take an early lead. The moving lineup served fast-breaking, short rides only allowing one or two maneuvers and kept all athletes scores in the average range. All following efforts from her opponents proved insufficient and the Basque junior claimed her maiden Qualifying Series win.
“I’m so incredibly happy today, I felt a little bit frustrated with my second place in the Juniors yesterday, I have worked hard for it and I hoped to take it out,” she reflected. “But today I came with a positive frame of mind thinking this was another opportunity so I’m stoked to win. I’ve always looked up to Pauline since I was really young and to surf against her today and win is very special. She’s an amazing surfer and a fantastic person, I hope I get to travel and surf with her again in the future.”
Placing second to Ochoa was former Championship Tour competitor Pauline Ado (FRA), 25, who couldn’t execute her game plan as expected in the tricky conditions and was left chasing a medium score for the pole position. Today’s second place for Ado comforts her lead in the European title race as surfers will move onto the next event in Portugal in two weeks.
Maddi Aizpurua (EUK) © Poullenot-WSL
“I’m really disappointed because I thought it would be a great battle out there and with much better scores, I think maybe expecting too much beforehand got me overlooking opportunities,” she analyzed. “I’m happy for Ariane, she’s done really well and definitely deserved her win today.”
The men’s final was a two-way battle between Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY), 35, and Jorgann Couzinet (REU) who immediately put their opponents out of reach of the title with a solid 9 point ride each on similar solid right-handers with huge turns and maximum risk taking.
Garazi Sanchez (EUK) © Poullenot-WSL
PRO A CORUÑA MEN’S QS FINAL RESULTS:
1- Jonathan Gonzalez (CNY) 16.34
2- Jorgann Couzinet (REU) 15.20
3- Gony Zubizarreta (ESP) 9.84
4- Marlon Lipke (PRT) 9.76
PRO A CORUÑA WOMEN’S QS FINAL RESULTS:
1- Ariane Ochoa (EUK) 9.77
2- Pauline Ado (FRA) 8.24
3- Maddi Aizpurua (EUK) 6.20
4- Peony Knight (GBR)
Longboard Pro A Coruña
Alice Lemoigne (REU) © Poullenot-WSL
Reigning World Longboard Champion Rachael Tilly (USA), 18, got a head start on her opponents in the women’s longboard final with a solid 7.17 wave for a lengthy nose ride and the early lead. The quickly building swell served up big chunky sets and very few opportunities for traditional style longboarding as Chloe Calmon (BRA), Lindsay Steinriede (USA) and Justine Dupont (FRA) kept chasing open shoulders and sections to exploit.
Brazilian Calmon committed to a big final maneuver on a closing section, adding an average score on the board before she and Tilly exchanged similar nose rides. Dupont and Steinriede had a slower start but both found waves to try to get back into contention. Tilly finally caught the winning ride to overtake Calmon and claim the women’s Longboard Pro A Coruña title.
“These events are pretty important because that final was full of girls I compete against in China as well, Chloe and Lindsay I’ve surfed against in man-on-man heats on my way to the world title in December,” she reflected. “The water here is beautiful and so clear and everyone I’ve met has been super nice and friendly which has made my trip 10 times better. I’m going to go home now but I’ll be back for the next event in England next month.”
In an exciting start to the women’s junior final, Teresa Bonvalot (PRT), Ariane Ochoa (EUK) and Nadia Erostarbe (EUK) all got up to quick start, exchanging great waves right off the buzzer for a 7 point ride each. Ochoa was the quickest to back up her top score with two good turns on a left-hander. The Basque surfer hold the lead for almost half the heat but Portugal’s Bonvalot found a slightly better second wave to steal back the lead and ultimately belt her third Junior win this season.
“I’m super happy to win again here today, it gets me closer to a possible European title but I know nothing’s for certain until the end of the season,” she stated. “I’m going to keep working hard towards that goal, there’s two more events and of course I’ll be carrying confidence and motivation into the next event in three of four days but there’s still work to be done to secure it.”
In the men’s longboard event, Antoine Delpero (FRA), 30, once again dominated the longboard field and claimed his third consecutive regional event win, belting the highly coveted European Longboard Champion title in the process. The Frenchman found two excellent waves in the opening minutes of the final heat and surfed them with a mixed approach of classic nose riding and strong closeout hacks for a combined heat total of 15.13.
PRO A CORUÑA MEN’S LQS FINAL RESULTS:
1- Antoine Delpero (FRA) 15.13
2- Edouard Delpero (FRA) 14.33
3- Augusto Olinto (BRA) 11.33
4- Emilien Fleury (FRA) 5.83
PRO A CORUÑA MEN’S LQS SEMIFINAL RESULTS:
SF 1: Augusto Olinto (BRA) 17.00, Emilien Fleury (FRA) 14.07, Ben Skinner (GBR) 13.67, Daniel Gil (ARG) 10.20
SF2: Antoine Delpero (FRA) 14.07, Edouard Delpero (FRA) 11.87, Martin Coret (REU) 8.43, Joe Hornbuckle (GBR) 7.67
PRO A CORUÑA WOMEN’S LQS FINAL RESULTS:
1- Rachael Tilly (USA) 14.00
2- Chloe Calmon (BRA) 11.67
3- Justine Dupont (FRA) 10.03
4- Lindsay Steinriede (USA) 5.93
Finalists LONGBOARD and JUNIOR © Poullenot-WSL
Junior Pro A Coruna
Meanwhile Marco Mignot and Teresa Bonvalot claimed the under-18 titles at the Junior Pro A Coruña in clean, building three-to-five foot surf at playa de Caion.
PRO A CORUÑA MEN’S JQS FINAL RESULTS:
1- Marco Mignot (FRA) 16.40
2- Arran Strong (GBR) 11.94
3- Eliott Napias (PYF) 11.27
4- Harry De Roth (GBR) 8.83
PRO A CORUÑA WOMEN’S JQS FINAL RESULTS:
1- Teresa Bonvalot (PRT) 13.16
2- Ariane Ochoa (EUK) 12.57
3- Nadia Erostarbe (EUK) 12.43
4- Eveline Hooft (NDL) 5.97
The Pro A Coruña Surf Fest is supported by Tag Heuer, Mahou, Nissan, Ayuntamiento de A Coruña, Concello de Laracha, Mondariz, Eleven Yellow, Coca Cola, Siroko, Club Costa Da Morte and Vazva among others.
The Pro A Coruña Surf Fest is supported by Tag Heuer, Mahou, Nissan, Ayuntamiento de A Coruña, Concello de Laracha, Mondariz, Eleven Yellow, Coca Cola, Siroko, Club Costa Da Morte and Vazva among others.
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